Bendik S. Søvegjarto has resigned as Chief Executive Officer of Bluegrove to pursue opportunities outside of the organization. He co-founded the company in 2014 and became CEO in 2017.
As explained in a statement, he developed a commercial business that centered on feeding solutions to improve efficiency and sustainability in salmon farming. The company went from having 3 to more than 50 team members. Finally, he made relationships with several F500 strategics on aquaculture technology.
Regarding his leaving, he indicated: "It's been a privilege to have served as CEO and an honor to have worked with an impressively talented and diverse group of people across 14 different countries. It was a tough decision to leave, but I feel it is the right one. For me and Bluegrove."
Also, he added: "I am very proud of the success of Bluegrove thus far. When we started, we didn't know how things would pan out. Today, some of the largest farmers in the world are using our feeding solutions daily to optimize their production."
As the first close of a Series B funding, Bluegrove completed a capital raise of EUR 12 million in December 2021. In more detail, Søvegjarto joined the round, led by Aqua-Spark and Internet of Things technologies investor Breed Reply. The aim of this is to specialize in solutions for salmon farmers as a means to further boost the business, with a broader management team.
To sum up, Bluegrove's board is "thankful for all his work and wishes him all the best in his new ventures". The board has appointed Martin Munkeby as interim CEO. An executive search process to find the next CEO is underway.